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SACD

Hidefumi Toki Quartet – Toki (1975) [Japan 2006] [SACD / Three Blind Mice – MHCP 10027]

adminFebruary 22, 2026 45 Views

Title: Hidefumi Toki Quartet – Toki (1975) [Japan 2006]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Hidefumi Toki is one of the prominent alto saxophonists in Japan. Born in 1950, he had formal and classical musical education on clarinet in high school and saxophone in college. Although he eventually quit school to become a full-time jazz musician, some say that his classical training helped him acquire his beautiful tone. Recorded in 1975 for Three Blind Mice, this debut album featured his superb regular group at the time, a pianoless quartet including the incredible Kazumi Watanabe on guitar, Nobuyoshi Ino on bass and an American expat Steve Jackson on drums.

Toki’s beautiful alto and soprano soar on his own compositions (“Lullaby for the Girl,” “Darkness” and “Old Song Blues”) as well as Ornette Coleman’s “Blues.” Watanabe’s backing and chord work is so adept and sophisticated that at first listen you’d not even realize that there’s no pianist on this set. According to the producer’s note, all numbers except one were completed in one take and the entire session lasted less than four hours! You can actually tell the young musicians were so in tune with each other and on fire! This is one heck of a rousing, swinging, powerful jazz album.

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2 min read

SACD

Hideaki Yoshioka Trio – Moment To Moment (2000) [Japan 2018] [SACD / Venus Records – VHGD-286]

adminFebruary 22, 2026 54 Views

Title: Hideaki Yoshioka Trio – Moment To Moment (2000) [Japan 2018]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Funky jazz pianist Yoshioka Hideaki’s long-awaited first East Coast recording. Hideaki plays with Jamir Nasser and Jimmy Cobb who he was eager to co-star most. Includes “Don’t Take Your Love From Me”, “Blowin’ The Blues Away”, “Some One To Light Up My Life”, “Harlem Blues” and “Moment To Moment”, plus two Yoshioka originals. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio.

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1 min read

SACD

Herve Billaut – Gabriel Faure (2007) [SACD / Lyrinx – LYR 2253]

adminFebruary 22, 2026 55 Views

Title: Herve Billaut – Gabriel Faure (2007)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Hervé Billaut is a French classical pianist. For this release for Lyrinx label he is performed the classical works by Gabriel Fauré – Nocturnes, Preludes, and Ballade.

It was during a period of about forty years that Gabriel Fauré’s piano works were created. A highly important period in musical history in that these years, according to Harry Halbreich, “witnessed considerable changes both in general history and musical language. When Fauré wrote his first piano works, Wagner and Liszt were still alive and Brahms was at his creative peak. In France, Saint-Saëns and Lalo dominated instrumental music, and César Franck had not yet composed his most important scores. At the time of the 13th Nocturne, Fauré’s last piano masterpiece, the greatest revolution in musical history, embodied by Schoenberg and Stravinsky, had already taken place, and the young Group of Six had already made its first impact. The post-1918 era constituted an artistic and spiritual universe dizzyingly distant from that of Fauré’s youth.” With a program comprising the First Nocturne Op. 33 n°1, the Ballade Op. 19, the Nocturne n°6 Op. 63, Thème & Variations Op. 73, 9 Préludes Op. 103, and the Nocturne n°13 Op. 119, pianist Hervé Billaut invites us to a poetic, sensual and meditative reading of these pieces. His approach unlatches a lively and passionate musical discourse where his reading of the proposed works offers unforgettable colors. All seems to overflow with fervor under the fingers of a virtuoso, and the weight of the notes never loses its substance but rather embodies a melancholic and peaceful language. In a well-crafted DSD recording in stereo and multi-channel, this Fauré recital can be ranked among the most inspired.

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2 min read

SACD

Herman’s Hermits – Retrospective (2004) [SACD / ABKCO – 92282]

adminFebruary 22, 2026 51 Views

Title: Herman’s Hermits – Retrospective (2004)
Genre: Pop, Rock
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

No less than 26 hybrid, SACD-remastered tracks from Peter Noone and crew you’re into something very good! “I’m into Something Good”; “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter”; “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat”; “No Milk Today”; “I’m Henry VIII, I Am”; “There’s a Kind of Hush”; “A Must to Avoid”; “Silhouettes”; “Hold On”; “Just a Little Bit Better”; “Leaning on a Lamp Post”; “(What a) Wonderful World”, and more. Every hit! The 26 tracks on Retrospective show that it’s not enough to just have hits, you have to have hits with the right songs. Herman’s Hermits came to prominence during the early days of the British Invasion with a mix of odes to teenage love such as “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat,” “Mrs. Brown, You’ve got a Lovely Daughter,” and “I’m Into Something Good” and mildly rocked-up versions of ancient English music hall songs like George Formby’s 1937 hit “Leaning on a Lamp Post” and the 1911 chart-topper “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am.” By 1966, two years after lead singer Peter Noone and his band mates scored their first hit, they were pigeonholed as a novelty act and their records stopped charting. Which is too bad because their later songs like “No Milk Today,” “East West,” and “Don’t Go Out Into the Rain” are delightful dollops of late 1960s British pop. Many of these later songs featured string arrangements by John Paul Jones and guitar parts by Jimmy Page, who were both studio musicians before they formed Led Zeppelin. Herman’s Hermits were not among the most important bands from the British Invasion, but their best songs perfectly captured the giddy spirit of the times and are certainly worth revisiting.

Herman’s Hermits are widely seen as a lightweight, novelty cousin to the Beatles, fronted by a lovably dorky moppet and musically negligible. Sure, they are lightweight at times, Peter Noone is a lovable moppet, and their popularity would never have been possible without the Beatles, but one listen to Retrospective proves that they were not lacking in the musical department. Setting aside “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am” (which proves everything the critics say about the band), the group, and producer Mickie Most, had a surefooted straight-ahead approach that let the songs’ hooks sink in deeply. Noone’s pleasant voice and the band’s sympathetic but never boring backing always goes down easy, and when they get excited – like on “Hold On” or “A Must to Avoid” – they almost rock. Thanks to the generous outlay of tracks and the improved sound, Retrospective takes over as the definitive collection of the Hermits’ work. It leaves off their final two singles recorded for RAK in 1970, but otherwise the 26 songs here include 23 that made the Top 40 in the U.K. or the U.S. Many of the tracks are among the best the British Invasion had to offer, including “A Must to Avoid,” “I’m into Something Good,” “There’s a Kind of Hush,” and “Listen People.” It also shows the band’s range with the lovely Baroque pop of “East West,” the laid-back R&B of “(What A) Wonderful World,” the folk-rock with strings of “Don’t Go Out in the Rain,” the British psychedelia of “Museum,” and the Bee Gees-styled orchestrated pop of “Here Comes the Star.” The band was really much more versatile then given credit for and not as lightweight, either, as melancholy tracks like “No Milk Today” and “My Sentimental Friend” prove. Another thing Retrospective makes clear is that, much like another underrated ’60s group, they were able to maintain a high-quality output even as the hits were smaller and farther between; 1968’s “Sunshine Girl,” 1967’s “I Can Take or Leave Your Loving,” and 1968’s “Something’s Happening” are just as hooky and memorable as their early work, and may even be better songs as they are the work of a more mature and assured group. They just weren’t able to make as big an impact due to the times they were released. If you have even a passing interest in the band you should pick this disc up; it will win you over and soon you will join the proud ranks of Hermit boosters.

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4 min read

SACD

Herbie Hancock – Maiden Voyage (1965) [Analogue Productions 2010] [SACD / Analogue Productions – CBNJ 84195 SA]

adminFebruary 22, 2026 47 Views

Title: Herbie Hancock – Maiden Voyage (1965) [Analogue Productions 2010]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Less overtly adventurous than its predecessor, Empyrean Isles, Maiden Voyage nevertheless finds Herbie Hancock at a creative peak. In fact, it’s arguably his finest record of the ’60s, reaching a perfect balance between accessible, lyrical jazz and chance-taking hard bop. By this point, the pianist had been with Miles Davis for two years, and it’s clear that Miles’ subdued yet challenging modal experiments had been fully integrated by Hancock. Not only that, but through Davis, Hancock became part of the exceptional rhythm section of bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams, who are both featured on Maiden Voyage, along with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and tenor saxophonist George Coleman. The quintet plays a selection of five Hancock originals, many of which are simply superb showcases for the group’s provocative, unpredictable solos, tonal textures, and harmonies. While the quintet takes risks, the music is lovely and accessible, thanks to Hancock’s understated, melodic compositions and the tasteful group interplay. All of the elements blend together to make Maiden Voyage a shimmering, beautiful album that captures Hancock at his finest as a leader, soloist, and composer.

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2 min read

SACD

Herbie Hancock – Head Hunters (1973) [Japanese SACD Reissue 1999] [SACD / SME Records – SRGS 4510]

adminFebruary 22, 2026 48 Views

Title: Herbie Hancock – Head Hunters (1973) [Japanese SACD Reissue 1999]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Head Hunters is the twelfth studio album by American jazz musician Herbie Hancock, released October 13, 1973, on Columbia Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place during September 1973 at Wally Heider Studios and Different Fur Trading Co. in San Francisco, California. Head Hunters is a key release in Hancock’s career and a defining moment in the genre of jazz funk. In 2003, the album was ranked number 498 in the book version of Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2007, the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry, which collects “culturally, historically or aesthetically important” sound recordings from the 20th century.

Head Hunters was a pivotal point in Herbie Hancock’s career, bringing him into the vanguard of jazz fusion. Hancock had pushed avant-garde boundaries on his own albums and with Miles Davis, but he had never devoted himself to the groove as he did on Head Hunters. Drawing heavily from Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, and James Brown, Hancock developed deeply funky, even gritty, rhythms over which he soloed on electric synthesizers, bringing the instrument to the forefront in jazz. It had all of the sensibilities of jazz, particularly in the way it wound off into long improvisations, but its rhythms were firmly planted in funk, soul, and R&B, giving it a mass appeal that made it the biggest-selling jazz album of all time (a record which was later broken). Jazz purists, of course, decried the experiments at the time, but Head Hunters still sounds fresh and vital decades after its initial release, and its genre-bending proved vastly influential on not only jazz, but funk, soul, and hip-hop.

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2 min read

SACD

Herbie Hancock – Future Shock (1983) [Japanese SACD Reissue 2000] [SACD / SME Records – SRGS 4536]

adminFebruary 22, 2026 48 Views

Title: Herbie Hancock – Future Shock (1983) [Japanese SACD Reissue 2000]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Herbie Hancock completely overhauled his sound and conquered MTV with his most radical step forward since the sextet days. He brought in Bill Laswell of Material as producer, along with Grand Mixer D.ST on turntables — and the immediate result was “Rockit,” which makes quite a post-industrial metallic racket. Frankly, the whole record is an enigma; for all of its dehumanized, mechanized textures and rigid rhythms, it has a vitality and sense of humor that make it difficult to turn off. Moreover, Herbie can’t help but inject a subversive funk element when he comps along to the techno beat — and yes, some real, honest-to-goodness jazz licks on a grand piano show up in the middle of “Auto Drive”.

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1 min read

SACD

Herbie Hancock – Thrust (1974) [Audio Fidelity 2016] [SACD / Audio Fidelity – AFZ5 223]

adminFebruary 22, 2026 45 Views

Title: Herbie Hancock – Thrust (1974) [Audio Fidelity 2016]
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

The follow-up to the breakthrough Headhunters album was virtually as good as its wildly successful predecessor: an earthy, funky, yet often harmonically and rhythmically sophisticated tour de force. There is only one change in the Headhunters lineup – swapping drummer Harvey Mason for Mike Clark – and the switch results in grooves that are even more complex. Hancock continues to reach into the rapidly changing high-tech world for new sounds, most notably the metallic sheen of the then-new ARP string synthesizer which was already becoming a staple item on pop and jazz-rock records. Again, there are only four long tracks, three of which (“Palm Grease,” “Actual Proof,” “Spank-A-Lee”) concentrate on the funk, with plenty of Hancock’s wah-wah clavinet, synthesizer textures and effects, and electric piano ruminations that still venture beyond the outer limits of post-bop. The change-of-pace is one of Hancock’s loveliest electric pieces, “Butterfly,” a match for any tune he’s written before or since, with shimmering synth textures and Bennie Maupin soaring on soprano (Hancock would re-record it 20 years later on Dis Is Da Drum, but this is the one to hear). This supertight jazz-funk quintet album still sounds invigorating a quarter of a century later.

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2 min read

SACD

Herbie Hancock – Sextant (1973/2019) [SACD / Vocalion – CDSML 8556]

adminFebruary 22, 2026 45 Views

Title: Herbie Hancock – Sextant (1973/2019)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO

Sextant Review by Thom Jurek When Herbie Hancock left Warner Bros. in 1971 after releasing three musically sound but critically and commercially underappreciated albums — Crossings, Mwandishi, and Fat Albert Rotunda — he was struggling. At odds with a jazz establishment that longed for a return to his Blue Note sound, and possessing a fierce consciousness struggle with free music and the full-on embrace of electricity after his tenure with Miles Davis, Hancock was clearly looking for a sound. Before diving into the funky waters of Headhunters in 1973, Hancock and his tough group (including drummer Billy Hart, trombonist Julian Priester, trumpeterEddie Henderson, saxophonist Bennie Maupin, and bassist Buster Williams) cut this gem as Hancock’s debut for Columbia. Like its Warner predecessors, the album features a kind of post-modal, free impressionism that traces the edges of funk. Its three long tracks are exploratory investigations into the nature of how mode and interval can be boiled down into a minimal stew, then extrapolated upon for soloing and “riffing.” In fact, in many cases, the interval is the riff, evidenced by “Rain Dance.” The piece that revealed the true funk direction, however, was “Hidden Shadows,” with its choppy basslines and heavy percussion — aided by the inclusion of Dr. Patrick Gleeson and Buck Clarke. Dave Rubinson’s production brought Hancock’s piano more into line with the rhythm section, allowing for a unified front in the more abstract sections of these tunes. The true masterpiece on the album, though, is “Hornets,” an eclectic, electric ride through both the dark modal ambience of Miles’ In a Silent Way and post-Coltrane harmonic aesthetics. The groove is in place, but it gets turned inside out by Priester and Maupin on more than one occasion and Hancock just bleats with the synth in sections. Over 19 minutes in length, it can be brutally intense, but is more often than not stunningly beautiful. It provides a glimpse into the music that became Headhunters, but doesn’t fully explain it, making this disc, like its Warner predecessors, true and welcome mysteries in Hancock’s long career.
https://www.discogs.com/release/13759684-Herbie-Hancock-Sextant

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2 min read

SACD

Herbie Hancock – Head Hunters (1973) [Japanese Reissue 2020] [SACD / Sony Music – SICJ-10014]

adminFebruary 22, 2026 49 Views

Title: Herbie Hancock – Head Hunters (1973) [Japanese Reissue 2020]
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Sony Japan continues with their limited edition quad SACD series with one of the greatest masterpieces of the fusion jazz genre. The 1973 “Head Hunters” album from keyboardist Herbie Hancock gets a reissue in multi-channel surround. Not only is the packaging unique to other editions, for the first time, the actual 4 channel quad version of the album has been released in a digital format. This should not be confused with the SACD that was issued by Sony Japan back in 2008, a multi-channel version which was reconfigured from the four channel master tapes. Instead this newly remastered 2020 edition truly gives quadrophonic collectors the original mix on a great format, and directly takes fans back to the 70’s quad era. After recording with Miles Davis over several years starting in 1963, Hancock’s solo career blossomed on the Blue Note label with his classic albums Maiden Voyage, Empyrean Isles, and Speak Like a Child. After leaving Miles Davis’s group, Hancock put together a new band called The Headhunters and, in 1973, recorded Head Hunters. This album became a pivotal point in his career, bringing him into the limelight of fusion jazz. Drawing heavily from Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield and James Brown, Hancock developed a deep funky, texturally gritty rhythms over which he took liberties with electric synthesizer solos. Maintaining all of the sensibilities of jazz, particularly with his long improvisational solos, he firmly tied jazz to the rhythms of funk, soul, and R&B, in turn giving the album a mass appeal.

hraudio | allmusic | discogs

(more…)

3 min read